SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii — In the last seconds of the 2012 Armed Forces Boxing Championships’ super heavyweight bout, Staff Sgt. Marvin Carey, a military policeman, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, gave the Marine Corps its first gold medal win in that tournament in 21 years.
Carey has been on the road toward redemption ever since.
Carey won the prestigious 2013 All Army Heavyweight Boxing Championship, recently, and with it, a chance to compete against the best in the nation at the USA Boxing Championships in Spokane, Wash., this month.
He placed third in the country during the 2012 Armed Forces competition, taking home the bronze in the 201-pound men’s senior division, but Carey was not satisfied.
“I should’ve got first,” said Carey.
Dressed in black and yellow All Army Boxing attire on his day off, Carey said he only began boxing three years ago, while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. When asked about his boxing career, he said he was told that he was “built to play contact sports,” so he decided to try it out.
As a squad leader in charge of 12 soldiers, Carey said his workday ends at 9 p.m. When he wraps up his military workload and professional training, he gives boxing classes to his unit and teaches intense strength training.
The boxing music lover added that just as he pushes his Soldiers each day to give their best and reflect on their performance at work, he takes time out to do the same. He said he thinks about that loss at the Armed Forces Boxing Championships all the time.
“I train harder than anyone I know; I think about things I did right or wrong,” said Carey. “I will never quit because I will come back for that gold medal.”
Sgt. Timothy Marino, an MP assigned to HH Company, 3rd BSTB, and a long-time friend of Carey said, “He’s an animal. He’s very motivational and is in great shape. I even tried to work out with him once, but I couldn’t hang.”
Marino added, “He’s a good strong leader who upholds all the Army Values and makes himself available to all soldiers even while he’s training, but as a boxer, he competes with guys way younger than him and watches boxers on TV. … He’s a technical fighter. Those are the ones you should be afraid of.”
Carey is a family-oriented soldier, who thinks about the example he is setting for his younger brother Richard and also the teachings of his mother Lajuana, who said, “Don’t come back with a black eye, or I’ll black the other one.”
Before each fight, Carey said he watches the video, “How Bad Do You Want It,” by Eric Thomas. He keeps a clear head, focuses on doing what he knows, gets his game plan together, keeps his mother’s words close to his heart, keeps his eyes closed and stays humble.
“To be successful, you have to want it as bad as you want to breathe,” Carey said. “That’s how bad I want it. I want that gold medal like I need air.”
When asked what he will do after his plan to avenge his loss at the Armed Forces tournament, Carey said, “I’ll move on to All Army Basketball.”